Archive for the ‘Tentacles’ Category

Deepest R’lyeh

Saturday, March 8th, 2014

Deepest R'lyeh, abstract art by Amy Crook

Deepest R’lyeh, abstract art by Amy Crook

“Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn”
(“In his house at R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”)

-HP Lovecraft

Strange, tentacled things grow in the depths, with the horrible spheres of the ancient city of R’lyeh shining dim and strange through the murky waters. Colors shift and change, and objects seem to flow into one another in ways that the mind can’t quite comprehend. What strange horrors lie just out of sight, waiting for the stars to be right?

Deepest R’lyeh, 5″x5″ watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Arches cover white paper.

Deepest R'lyeh, detail, by Amy Crook

Deepest R’lyeh, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of one of the strange, multicolored tentacle creatures. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, a window into a world of madness.

Deepest R'lyeh, framed art by Amy Crook

Deepest R’lyeh, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: , , , ,


Meet Me on Saturn

Tuesday, March 4th, 2014

Meet Me on Saturn, watercolor by Amy Crook

Meet Me on Saturn, watercolor by Amy Crook

If you don’t know what movie I’m referencing here, get thee to Netflix* and watch Beetlejuice!

I decided I wanted to paint some stripey tentacles, so I got out my watercolors and popped in the DVD for inspiration. I decided on the off-color sky with its almost greenish blues and brighter golds after seeing the ghosts ending up on Saturn, and since that’s where the stripey sandworms come from, it seemed appropriate for a title.

I am especially pleased with the way the two outer tentacles are meeting up over the curl of the third. Are they parents and child, all part of the same creature, or is it just a third wheel?

The ways of tentacles are mysterious.

Meet Me on Saturn, 8″x8″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Meet Me on Saturn, detail, by Amy Crook

Meet Me on Saturn, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the curl of tentacle, and the details of the delicate shading on and around it. Below, I’ve got the tentacles in a frame. They’re currently in my living room, where I can see them every day.

Meet Me on Saturn, framed art by Amy Crook

Meet Me on Saturn, framed art by Amy Crook

*Not that I have any idea if Netflix has it.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: , , , ,


Shaken Not Stirred

Tuesday, February 18th, 2014

drunk Cthulhu in a cocktail shaker

“Maybe I should’ve gone with stirred…”
Shaken Not Stirred, a Cthulhu parody comic by Amy Crook

When I was working on illustrations for my Cthulhu Holiday Fun Book, I wanted something for New Years that was like a pinup, only with Cthulhu. I actually googled up some cocktail pinups, and while I found a few delightful girls in martini and Champagne glasses, it was the one perky pinup in a shaker that caught my eye.

Alas, Cthulhu didn’t realize that he’d be the one shaken, and I think he got a little more than he bargained for.

I made him into a greeting card for my Etsy shop, because sometimes drunk Cthulhu is the right thing for the occasion. Especially if that occasion involves someone partying too hard and needing your, ahem, “sympathy.”

Shaken Not Stirred, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

Drunk Cthulhu card on Etsy by Amy Crook

Drunk Cthulhu card on Etsy by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Card Design, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: , , , , , , , ,


Box of Hearts

Sunday, January 12th, 2014

Box of Hearts, a Cthulhu Valentine by Amy Crook

Box of Hearts, a Cthulhu Valentine by Amy Crook

When Cthulhu gives you a big box of hearts, he really gives you… hearts. Ew. They may be small and squishy, but he finally found a way to show his love!

The card delightfully frames the image with the words:

“Cthulhu wanted to give you his* hearts
*not all hearts dedicated to Cthulhu before acquisition”

You can give your love a Valentine this year from my Etsy Shop. Assuming they’re the sort to be wooed by, well, this.

Box of Hearts, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

Cthulhu Valentine by Amy Crook on Etsy

Cthulhu Valentine by Amy Crook on Etsy

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Card Design, Floating Gallery, Tentacles, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: , , , , , , ,


Shrimp-Crossed Lovers

Saturday, January 11th, 2014

Shrimp-Crossed Lovers, comic by Amy Crook

Shrimp-Crossed Lovers, comic by Amy Crook

The fates are conspiring to keep these two lovers apart, but they’ve used their shrimp treats to express their devotion. Will someone buy them both and put them in the same tank, or are they doomed to live forever alone?

You can get a Valentine at Etsy to show that long-distance love how much you miss them. With shrimp.

Shrimp-Crossed Lovers, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

Shrimp-Crossed Lovers Valentine at Etsy by Amy Crook

Shrimp-Crossed Lovers Valentine at Etsy by Amy Crook

Categories: Card Design, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: , , , , , , ,


Pollen

Monday, November 4th, 2013

Pollen by Amy Crook

Pollen by Amy Crook

Continuing with my new tradition of reworking old art, this piece has very little resemblance to its forebear. The soft black paper is entirely covered in a dark, velvety red like old blood, and each little salt pool has a halo of iridescent garnet. The salt pools, originally a dull pink from the Himalaya sea salt, have been dyed a bright shimmering blue to match the tentacles. They reminded me of glowing motes of pollen drifting on the breeze, which is how I got the name.

I’ve got to admit, I really hope I don’t ever have to inhale these alien grains of pollen. I’d hate to see what kind of allergy attack they’d produce — or find blue tentacles growing in my brain.

Pollen, 5″x5″ salt and watercolor on Arches cover black paper.

Pollen, detail, by Amy Crook

Pollen, detail, by Amy Crook

The big central crystal in this formation refused to be dyed blue, so it’s the only bit of the original pink left in the piece. Above, you can see the shimmering iridescent paint fading into the deeper background color — a natural-mineral paint called, appropriately, bloodstone. Below, the piece has been tucked into a frame with some extra tentacles to make it feel at home.

Pollen, framed art by Amy Crook

Pollen, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Tentacles
Tags: , , , , , ,


Trick or Treat & a new Cthulhu Book

Wednesday, October 30th, 2013

Trick or Treat, Cthulhu parody art by Amy Crook

Trick or Treat, Cthulhu parody art by Amy Crook

I’ve finally finished my Cthulhu Holiday Fun Book, a handmade coloring and activity book themed around holidays from Halloween to Father’s Day (zombie style). The above art is lovingly dedicated to Goomi’s Unspeakable Vault, my favorite Cthulhu webcomic of all, since he had the idea of dressing Cthulhu up for Halloween and did it much more cleverly than I.

This image and 11 more are waiting in the book for you to color, along with 5 original maddening puzzles and activities. I don’t promise some of them won’t drive you insane, but hopefully you’ll enjoy the journey.

Get a copy at my Etsy shop today!

Cthulhu Holiday Fun Book, a Lovecraftian activity and coloring book by Amy Crook

Cthulhu Holiday Fun Book, a Lovecraftian activity and coloring book by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Card Design, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: , , , , , , , ,


« Or Head Back That Way Drip divider More Art This Way »